I was introduced to the camp at the ripe age of 8. My dad had been a camper there for 6 or 7 summers in the late 60s into the early 70s and hyped it up big time around our house. Tall tales of canoe trips and pirate ships were tough for any guy to pass on. After seeing brochures and old photos, it wasn’t a tough sell.

I went to Ahmek as a camper from 1994 to 2001 working my way up from the Bantam section to the Senior section. My sister quickly followed in my footsteps, attending Wapomeo from 1998 until 2006.

I hope to make it back to Ahmek in the heart of summer some day. The waterfront full of those orange and black canoes numbering in the hundreds has always been a site to behold. Until then, enjoy this collection of fall photos taken between 2009 to 2011.

Rented a Hasselblad H4D-40 from the good folks at Headshots Rentals along with the 28mm, 80mm and 150mm to have me covered. A big thanks to Mark at Amplis for providing me with a Gitzo GT3530S carbon-fibre tripod allowing for rock solid support during the trip.

Friday – A trip to Canoe Lake and Camp Ahmek. Raining most of the day but shooting during small breaks in the weather. Went out to Opeongo Lake Rd. Eventually setup camp at the Lake of Two Rivers campground.

Saturday – Early start. Straight to Lookout Trail. By the time I reached the lookout, clouds rolled in and it started snowing. Cleared within 30 minutes. From there, over to Booth’s Rock, overlooking Rock Lake. A quick lunch break in the parking lot and a drive back to Taylor Statten for some blue sky photos. From there, back across the park to Centennial Ridges, where I did a portion of the trail in reverse to get a good overlook of the fall colours and Whitefish Lake. As i was returning to the car park, ran across the bull, cow and calf moose in the photos below. Amazing creatures and econd time in my life I’ve been within 15 feet of moose. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and Lookout Trail was just up the road and a short hike out once the sun had set.

Sunday – Woke up early to pack up camp, and made it 10 minutes down the road and my car overheated. Towed to Huntsville, all mechanics closed on Sundays. Took a walk up to Lions Lookout and watched some football over at Pub on the Docks. Stayed in a motel. Toyota in Huntsville couldn’t fix me up, so a tow to Toronto on Monday.

Without further adieu…

And my setup for the trip. Gitzo GT3430S Tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-40.

Hasselblad H4D-40, 80mm f2.8, Cokin P filters.

These guys were awesome, lugged an entire broadcast camera and a couple lenses up to the Lookout Point.

Being that it was my first time shooting with a Hasselblad digital, a few findings, positive and negative.
Positive:
+ Amazing files. So much information in them from the highlights to the shadows.
+ Super sharp lenses with well controlled flare.
+ Gorgeous viewfinder. So big and bright.
+ 1/800 flash sync speed. Didn’t get to put it to the test, but I know during snowboard season I’ll be trying to get my hands on it again.
- Had a problem with one of the batteries not charging above 10%. Note sure if that’s a negative against the rental house or Hasselblad, but unfortunate. Charger wasn’t throwing an error either and no way to “Calibrate” or “Refresh” the battery.
- The LCD screen is weak. It’s big which is nice, but the quality just isn’t there. It loads up an image preview, which makes you think you’ve blown all the highlights, then loads the highlights in a few seconds later… but judging sharpness is incredibly difficult. It also has a magenta cast. Having using the IQ180 a few weeks back, I would love to have the Hasselblad/Kodak sensor with the Phase One LCD screen. For $15,000 to $50,000 (depending on megapixel count choice in the H4D series, I’d want more.
- Along with the LCD screen, a better GUI on the menu system would be greatly appreciated.
- Start up times. It does take a good 4-5 seconds after you power the camera on to be able to use autofocus or take a photo. Not a huge deal, but when you’re used to a DSLR it can be a bit of a shock.
- Pop-up flash? Hah.